I will get back to the blog. I will! I promise.
In the meantime, Western Folklore just published an essay by me on Bigfoot and children (vol. 70, no. 2):
'Tracking Bigfoot through 1970s North American Children's Culture: How Mass Media, Consumerism, and the Culture of Preadolescence Shaped Wildman Lore'
Abstract: Juvenile Bigfoot stories of the 1970s filtered generic themes inherent in wild man tales through culturally specific concerns about children's desires, the ubiquity of consumerism, and the power of mass media. The stories were meant to help children navigate the complexities of American culture. Children found something else: a way to break from their parents and claim a place in the social world as adults. They did not fret over consumerism but adapted to it.
In the meantime, Western Folklore just published an essay by me on Bigfoot and children (vol. 70, no. 2):
'Tracking Bigfoot through 1970s North American Children's Culture: How Mass Media, Consumerism, and the Culture of Preadolescence Shaped Wildman Lore'
Abstract: Juvenile Bigfoot stories of the 1970s filtered generic themes inherent in wild man tales through culturally specific concerns about children's desires, the ubiquity of consumerism, and the power of mass media. The stories were meant to help children navigate the complexities of American culture. Children found something else: a way to break from their parents and claim a place in the social world as adults. They did not fret over consumerism but adapted to it.